By Graham Manville and Ekaterina Koll
Cristiano Ronaldo—five-time Ballon d’Or winner and the most-followed athlete on Instagram—has become a vivid example of how athletes can shape both commercial outcomes and everyday behaviour. On 14 June 2021, during the Euro 2020 press conference, Ronaldo removed a Coca-Cola bottle from the podium in front of him and urged viewers to choose water instead. He noticed the branded bottles placed in his line of sight, picked them up, and shifted them out of the camera’s view. Then he held up a bottle of water and said, “Agua!” The gesture was a clear, audience-friendly message promoting water as the healthier choice over sugary drinks. The clip immediately spread across global media, igniting conversations about the growing responsibility—and influence—athletes hold when it comes to lifestyle messaging. After the incident, Coca-Cola’s stock reportedly fell temporarily by around $2 billion, reflecting just how much sway a high-profile athlete can have over public perception and consumer behaviour. Whether Ronaldo directly caused the stock decline is almost beside the point. The real story is the extraordinary power modern athletes exert over brands, behaviours, and the public conversation itself.
Today’s athlete is no longer simply a spokesperson for brands—they are brands in their own right. Research into fans’ sentiments towards Ronaldo’s social media suggests that his on-field performance drives much of the admiration, but it is his personal identity that gives the message its credibility. Ronaldo’s personal brand is built around discipline, fitness, and a healthy lifestyle, which translates into exceptional performance and reinforces the authenticity of his public image. When athletes’ brand alignment is coherent, references to commercial products can feel less like “paid advertising” and more like authentic self-expression. In this case, the Coca-Cola “Agua!” moment aligned perfectly with Ronaldo’s health-and-discipline values, helping reinforce trust with audiences and making the message feel genuine rather than manufactured.
After the incident, UEFA faced questions about whether sponsor arrangements had been compromised. UEFA later reminded tournament stakeholders of their sponsorship obligations, and the matter was subsequently censured by UEFA. According to the CEO of a sports consultancy, if the same type of disruption had occurred in the USA during an NFL or NBA setting, the consequences would likely have been more severe: “If something like this happened in the NFL or the NBA, the player would have been punished. They have a very strict discipline regimen; you can’t do something like that.” The underlying point is that sports sponsorship is no longer only about strict rules and visibility. Brands also cannot afford to ignore how sponsorship has shifted—from purchasing attention to aligning with personalities whose values genuinely match their own.
Another example often discussed under the “Ronaldo Effect” is how his presence can quickly change demand in the places he plays and visits. According to a researcher from the Otto Beisheim School of Management, before more high-profile football stars joined Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, Ronaldo’s time there was linked to a noticeable increase in stadium attendance. Specifically, his home stadium saw about 20% more seats filled; stadiums he visited saw about 15% more; and even matches where he didn’t play had around a 3% increase. These attendance changes underline that the athlete’s influence extends far beyond the pitch. He attracts audiences through identity and aspirations, not just sporting outcomes.
In this context, brands no longer fully control the narrative on their own when athletes maintain enormous independent platforms. A few seconds of Ronaldo’s Coca-Cola moment generated more discussion than many multimillion-dollar campaigns. People trusted Ronaldo’s actions because they felt consistent with who he is. And while brand influence can never be completely scripted, it is still crucial to recognize that athletes operate as cultural actors—not merely advertising assets. The value for brands lies in finding the right alignment between brand image and athlete values.
In a more proactive capacity, Ronaldo actively endorses a range of brands, including WOOP (a wearable fitness tracker), Herbalife (a global leader in nutrition), and Bioniq (tailored nutritional solutions). Given the precedent of increased health-conscious sponsorship across major sports leagues—and the strong consumer reinforcement of health-oriented messages by prominent athletes—this suggests a growing momentum towards a transformation in football sponsorship strategies. Unlike a “health halo effect,” where a footballer’s image creates the perception that products are healthy, their direct role model influence can create a more immediate and persuasive marketing opportunity for health-focused companies.
(Dr Graham Manville is a Professor of Management in the College of Business, Zayed University)
